Cheryl Stephanie Burke (born May 3, 1984) is an American dancer, model and TV Host. She is best known for being one of the professional dancers on ABC's Dancing with the Stars, where she was the first female professional to win the show and the first professional to win twice and consecutively. She participated in 18 seasons.

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Burke was born in San Francisco, California, and grew up in Atherton, California, the daughter of Sherri (Bautista) and Stephen Burke.[2] Her father is of Irish and Russian descent and her mother is Filipina. At age four, she began taking ballet lessons and performing locally. She then began ballroom dancing and decided to change her focus. She trained in both standard ballroom and Latin dances. She began competing at age 13. Cheryl attended Menlo-Atherton High School, graduating in 2002. Burke has one younger sister named Nicole and one stepsister named Mandy.

Cheryl Burke participated in a 38-city Dancing with the Stars tour from December 19, 2006 to February 11, 2007. She also joined the second summer tour, which visited 24 cities between June 20, 2007 in Austin, Texas and July 24, 2007 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Her celebrity partner for both tours was Drew Lachey. Burke competed on Season 5. Her partner was Las Vegas entertainer Wayne Newton. They were the third couple eliminated from the competition on October 9, 2007.[3]

The dancer returned to the show for Season 7 with partner Maurice Greene. They were eliminated in Week 8 on November 11, 2008 and came in 5th place. She returned to the show's eighth season, in which she was paired with actor Gilles Marini. They were the runners-up for the season, losing to Shawn Johnson and Mark Ballas. On August 17, 2009, it was announced that Burke would compete on the ninth season of Dancing with the Stars with partner Tom DeLay (former U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leader). On October 6, 2009, Cheryl and DeLay withdrew from the competition because DeLay had stress fractures in both feet.[6]

In season ten she was partnered with Chad Ochocinco. They were eliminated in the semi-finals and came in fourth place. Rick Fox was partnered with Burke in the show's eleventh season. They were voted off in the seventh week of the competition and came in 6th place. For the twelfth Season, she was partnered with wrestler Chris Jericho. They were voted off in the sixth week of the competition. In the thirteenth season, Burke was partnered with reality star Rob Kardashian. They came in second place, losing to J.R. Martinez & Karina Smirnoff. In the fourteenth season, Cheryl Burke was partnered with actor William Levy. The couple made it to the finals and finished in third place.

In Season 15, Burke returns with former partner and Season 3 Champion, Emmitt Smith for a chance to win another mirrorball trophy. They were eliminated in the semi-finals.For season 16, Burke is partnered with comedian D.L. Hughley. Despite receiving low marks and harsh criticism from the judges, Hughley and Burke made it halfway through the competition. They were eliminated third in Week 5 of the competition. During Week 8, she danced a Paso Doble with Jacoby Jones and Karina Smirnoff in the trio challenge. For season 17, she is partnered with media personality Jack Osbourne. Osbourne's struggle with multiple sclerosis was a source of inspiration to Burke. They made it to the finals and ended up receiving third place.

For season 18, she paired with game show host and actor Drew Carey. They were eliminated on Week 6 and ended in 8th place.

For season 19, she paired with soap star Antonio Sabàto Jr.. The couple was eliminated on Week 7 and finished in 8th place. Season 19 was the last season to feature Burke as she chose to leave after her contract expired.

Since her start in the second season of the show, Cheryl has achieved 18 perfect scores and 88 perfect 10s (without counting the marathons and relays). Additional feats include making it into the final stage of the show six times and her nine appearances in the show's semi-final stage. She is the only pro that has gotten all places in the finals at least twice (1st with Drew Lachey and Emmitt Smith, 2nd with Gilles Marini and Rob Kardashian, 3rd with Cristian de la Fuente, William Levy and Jack Osbourne.

Burke had a guest role on the Disney Channel series The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, in the episode "Loosely Ballroom" along with fellow Dancing professionals Louis van Amstel, Ashly DelGrosso, and Lacey Schwimmer. She portrays Shannon, a nurse attending to the ensemble cast during a dance contest at the series setting, The Tipton Hotel. In the final round of the competition, Burke's character volunteers to replace an ill competitor (Carey). She and her partner, Esteban, go on to win the competition.

In 2011, Burke released her autobiography, Dancing Lessons. Included in it is a description of how she, at age 5, was molested by a handyman helping her family, who repeatedly fondled her. She believed it was wrong but wanted to gain the affection of the person. The molester was sentenced to 22 years in prison and was released in 2008. Burke said that she is fearful of the person.[8] Burke has done numerous promotions outside of Dancing with the Stars which include Depend Silhouette briefs, Impress Nails and Sargento Cheese. Her partnership with these companies has raised a lot of money including 50 thousand dollars that Depend is donating to Dress for Success.[9] She opened her first dance studio in April 2008 and created her own line of activewear the next year.[10]

Burke has constantly been under fire for her weight. After posting a bikini selfie in 2014 on Twitter, Burke's followers criticized her for being too skinny, saying that she looks like she's "dying."[11] Years before, she was criticized for being too fat. However, Burke says she loves her fans and feels great about her body.

In 2014, Burke began dating entrepreneur JT Torregiani who had been in her friend circle for a decade.[12] The pair ceased dating in May 2015. [13]